Tag Archives: Technology coverage
Bloomberg.com launches new tech section
by Chris Roush
Marcus Chan, Bloomberg.com tech editor, writes about the expanded tech section on its website.
Chan writes, “We’ve been beefing up our SF bureau, which now has approximately 70 editors and writers including tech reporting titans like Rich Jaroslovsky, Emily Chang, Cory Johnson, Brad Stone, Jon Erlichman, Ari Levy, Doug MacMillan, and Peter Burrows. Also, Bloomberg TV’s ‘Bloomberg West‘ is filmed in San Francisco (this week marks the one-year anniversary of the show.)
“In addition to expanding staff to bring you more original content, tonight we are launching a new technology channel on Bloomberg.com (www.bloomberg.com/technology). The new section will include a host of content features, including:
–Blogs: The culture, clashes, and controversies. The personalities and the people behind the companies making news. Also, we’ll blog about the latest tech deals and how they might disrupt the industry.
–Billionaires: How much did Mark Zuckerberg gain? How much did Larry Page lose? Each week, we’ll list how much the tech world’s richest gained or lost.
–VC deals: Which startups landed the biggest round of financing? Keep track of the hottest startups with this weekly list of venture capital deals.
–The Pitch: Speaking of startups, which ones should get funding? Each week, we’re inviting startups to make a 30-second video pitch on why their company is the next big thing. Cast your vote for the next startup star.”
Read more here.
How Apple affects coverage of other tech companies
by Chris Roush
Mat Honan of Gizmodo writes about how Apple’s news conference on Wednesday is affecting coverage of other tech companies.
Honan writes, “How important? Here is an anecdote: A major player in the consumer electronics industry had an event planned on Wednesday morning at the same time as Apple’s announcement. It was a chance for an intimate group of technology journalists to meet with a C-level executive, and to walk away at the end of the meeting with unreleased products to review.
“Journalists love this kind of gathering because, above all else, we are dicks; the chance to hector a top executive at one of the world’s largest companies for not being Apple, in an intimate setting, surrounded by your equally unimpressed peers, and then walk out the door with unreleased products to review is what we love to do.
“Nonetheless, [Redacted] had to reschedule its event due to lack of interest. Too many inky hacks pulled out to cover Apple instead. We, the Press would rather sit in a dark room, unable to ask tough questions or actually touch and test an Apple product, than do our job. We would rather serve as a gateway for Apple’s live action press releases.
“And unless you accuse the media of being biased towards Apple products, you should have figured out by now that none of us even care. Who cares. Nobody cares. We are all so jaded and cynical that if cow shit brought in an audience, we would all be sitting in a pasture, DSLRs in hand, waiting breathlessly for the next patty to fall. Or at least, many of us would.
“We cover what we cover because it’s what you want us to cover. And as long as the audience comes in, we’ll be there to receive you.”
Read more here.
Bloomberg expanding tech coverage
by Chris Roush
Neal Ungerleider of Fast Company reports that Bloomberg News is expanding its tech news coverage.
Undergleider writes, “Fast Companyhas learned that Bloomberg’s new tech vertical is scheduled to go live tomorrow, March 6, and will include several new blogs and original video content.
“Although the site is not yet publicly online, two of the blogs are already in soft launch: The creatively named Tech Blog and Tech Deals. Both blogs are edited by Marcus Chan, the San Francisco Chronicle‘s former business editor. Chan joined Bloomberg in the summer of 2011 and was part of a hiring spree that also included the Associated Press’ Jordan Robertson. Apart from the blogs, the tech vertical will also include original stories and video alongside content imported from Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Businessweek, and Bloomberg TV.
“According to Chan, the Tech Deals blog will also contain a weekly ranking of the 60 wealthiest people in tech worldwide and a video feature where the readership can vote on the best user-submitted 30-second elevator pitch of the week. Content for the tech vertical will be overseen by Tom Giles, Bloomberg News’ U.S. Technology Team Leader. Giles told Fast Company that staff will include Bloomberg Businessweek, Businessweek.com, and Bloomberg TV contributors.
“Interestingly for New York-centric Bloomberg, the new tech sub-site is largely a West Coast operation. Content will largely be handled by the approximately 70 editors and writers in their San Francisco bureau. Video content for Bloomberg’s tech vertical will be closely tied to Bloomberg West, a television program which has been on the air since 2011.”
Read more here.
All biz journalists have conflicts
by Chris Roush
Dan Primack of Fortune doesn’t understand what all of the hullabaloo is about tech journalists and their conflicts, noting that at the end of the day, it is the quality of their content that matters.
Primack writes, “Most tech media site hosts live events, for the primary purpose of generating revenue. Yes, there are secondary goals — increasing brand awareness, generating exclusive content — but a well-attended conference can generate more money in a day than can a month’s worth of on-site advertising. Trust me, I’ve done them.
“And do you know why those conferences are well-attended? High-profile speakers. The higher the better. And do you know who usually recruits those speakers? Journalists, because they’re the ones with the existing relationships.
“In other words, journalists basically ask the people they are covering to appear at an event for the purpose of making money for that journalist’s employer (which then has more money to pay the journalist, or give them a raise). Not exactly the same as asking someone you cover for an investment in your employer, but not exactly in a different ballpark.
“Ultimately, it all comes down to reader trust, which journalists and media outlets gain over time by regularly publishing accurate, insightful and/or entertaining information. Anyone can publish unfounded rumors or gushy pablum about their own supporters. But those outlets won’t stand the test of time (and, consequently, won’t produce a good return on investment for their VC backers). Readers have limited time, don’t suffer fools lightly and have plenty of options.”
Read more here.
Happy Valentine’s Day, tech bloggers
by Chris Roush
Mat Honan of Gizmodo writes a mushy Valentine’s Day homage to all of the tech bloggers he likes.
Honan writes, “And that’s not just the bright sunny day, or the ecstasy I took this afternoon talking. We are living in a new golden age of journalism, even if we don’t realize it yet. One where individuals and little startups are capable of building up just as many readers and credibility as the most storied names in journalism. It’s a meritocracy now.
“And while we’re often all lumped together as tech bloggers, we do different things, and come at them from different angles. Some of us are trying to get scoops, others are trying to do deeper reporting, or explain how things work, or evaluate products, or tell literary stories that try to contextualize the culture. We want to inform, serve, and even entertain. We’re aided and handcuffed by the mind-blowing speed at which we have to not only write, but publish. We’re making up history as we go, getting facts right and wrong, being vindictive and wonderful, and trying really, really hard to explain this weird new hyper-connected world we that all stomp across. And at the end of the day we’re all just humans. And I love you, all of you, who make the Web what it is.
“Except you, Mike Arrington. I don’t love you. You’re a boil on the ass of the industry.
“Oh, what the fuck. You too. Even you. Especially you, Mike. TechCrunch has had some great stories over the years, and you’ve managed to do a lot of great things there, despite yourself. After today maybe I’ll go back to loathing you. But for now?
“Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Read more here.
Some tech journalists and their lack of ethics
by Chris Roush
Newsweek technology editor Dan Lyons writes about how a tech journalist, Michael Arrington, who has started a venture capital fund, and his cronies are now bad mouthing another tech journalist for writing negatively about a company that they invested in.
Lyons writes, “Separately another VC recently told me his firm recently had passed on opportunities to invest in some new tech blogs that were proposing a business model he described as ‘hush money.’ Potential investors were being offered ‘most favored nation’ status for themselves and their portfolio companies if they put money into the site.
“This is what now passes for ‘journalism’ in Silicon Valley: hired guns and reformed click-whores who have found a way to grab some of the loot for themselves. This is perhaps not surprising. Silicon Valley once was home to scientists and engineers — people who wanted to build things. Then it became a casino. Now it is being turned into a silicon cesspool, an upside-down world filled with spammers, liars, flippers, privacy invaders, information stealers — and their grubby cadre of paid apologists and pygmy hangers-on.
“The most delicious part of Siegler’s rant on the tech media is the final paragraph:
The only thing I can offer is the advice to take everything you read in the technology press with a grain of salt. Perhaps several. The likelihood that at least part of it is nonsense is very strong. And stronger by the day.
“For once, I could not agree more.”
Read more here.
Tech journalist named Time editor at large
by Chris Roush
Harry McCracken, who founded Technologizer and was editor of PC World, has been named an editor at large at Time magazine, reports Jim Romenesko.
Time managing editor Rick Stengel, in a memo obtained by Romenesko, writes, “Harry is a legend in the technology world and has been a terrific asset for TIME as a contributor to the magazine and TIME.com. His expertise is matched only by his versatility: he writes long, writes short, knows the inventors and the consumers, offers the expert product review and then the high altitude perspective on the forces that are changing the industry and the culture. He writes in a clear, conversational style that is appreciated by both techies and Luddites. In his new role, his talents will be showcased even more in the pages of TIME and on TIME.com, where his Technologizer site will have a new home.
“Prior to founding Technologizer in 2008, McCracken served as editor in chief of PC World, the world’s largest computer magazine, and its website, PCWorld.com. He has won awards for his writing and editing from American Business Media, ASBPE, MIN and the Western Publishing Association, and was named to the ‘Folio 40′ list of media movers and shakers and as one of MIN’s 21 Most Intriguing People. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance chose him as best tech gadget guru, and TechRepublic called him the #1 techie to follow on Twitter. He has also appeared as a tech expert on many TV and radio outlets, including the BBC, ABC, CBS, MSNBC and the History Channel, and collaborated with Dateline NBC on a multi-state investigation into PC repair services.”
Read more here.
Lacy launches tech news site
by Chris Roush
Business journalist Sarah Lacy has launched a new tech news site called Pando Daily, writes her former TechCrunch boss Michael Arrington, who invested in the site.
Arrington writes, “Sarah could call her new site anything she likes and it would still be something amazing and special. She talks about taking the best parts of TechCrunch – the relentless quest for the story that matters most that day, the loyalty to readers and the community, and something else – a competitive hunger that made her want to throw computers through windows when something slipped by her. That was rare, and I never saw her throw a computer, but I know she wanted to.
“Much more often, though, Sarah was one (or ten) steps ahead of her competition and not only broke the story but worked it over and over until she’d bled every last drop of blood out of it. I hope to never be on the other end of a Sarah Lacy story, because I get the feeling she’d do anything to get the facts she wants.
“Pando Daily has a single overriding goal – to be the paper of record for Silicon Valley. That means every story of importance will be covered with an unbiased look at the facts. Along with a healthy dose of the analysis that you’ve already come to expect from her and the people she works with.
“There’s a big void in Silicon Valley right now, and I believe readers are aching for something to fill that void. Pando Daily is going to do that.”
Read more here.
End of golden era of tech blogging
by Chris Roush
Jeremiah Owyang writes on his Web Strategy blog about the shifts in tech blogging and argues that a golden era has ended.
Owyang writes that certain trends are leading these changes, including:
Trend 1: Corporate acquisitions stymie innovation
Over the last few quarters, there’s been considerable acqusitions of organized blogs (which are more akin to news sites now-a-days), most notable, we’ve seen Techcrunch, who claimed annual revenues of about 10 mil a year, being acquired by AOL. Yet these purchases are quite common, as AOL has acquired Engadget in 2005, and Huffington Post in 2011. Just two weeks ago, another larger tech blog that has enterprise focus Read Write Web was just sold to Say Media. What typically happens when these acquisitions happen? Often the star talent, or founding team is pressured out, or takes a back seat while corporate business development teams match existing advertising inventory to a new found audience –forever changing the DNA of what created these startups. Lastly, acquisitions often force a conservative mindset over startups, because the purchase is focused on strengths of an asset, the mindset of ‘don’t break it’, keeps the culture to focus on the status quo. As acquisitions occur, innovation decreases.
Trend 2: Tech blogs are experiencing major talent turnover
Perhaps they were forced out, or maybe they saw the writing on the wall, but lately, we’ve seen a major change up in the all-star lineup of tech blogs. Just a few weeks before the acquisition of Read Write Web, the Senior Writer, Marshall Kirkpatrick separated ways now focused on building a product and company called Plexus Engine. Furthermore, Editor-at-Large of Mashable, Ben Parr separated ways from Mashable, yet continues to blog and we should watch for his next venture. Perhaps the most discussed exodus is a majority of the Techcrunch staff leaving, from founder Michael Arrington, CEO Heather Harde, top writer Sarah Lacy, and star journalist MG Siegler. Yet despite this loss, they acquired Eric Eldon, Josh Constine (both of Inside Facebook) and Sarah Perez (formerly of RWW) into the Techcrunch fold. Ben Parr himself listed out in greater detail all the people movements in the tech blogging space, there’s no doubt a shakeup occurring. The talent shakeup is normal after several exits occur –with new stars moving on to new business models.
Read more here.
Covering the CES as if you’re the Hunter S. Thompson of tech
by Chris Roush
Mat Honan, a senior reporter at Gizmodo, has a great story on what it’s like covering the Consumer Electronics Show, including what it takes to find a clean bathroom.
“People keep coughing on me. I try to listen politely, all the while wondering if I have the flu. I got my flu shot on December 29. I can’t help but wonder if it has activated yet. They tell you that it takes 14 days for antibodies to become effective, but that can vary from person to person. I take the press release and wander away past walls and walls of blinking, humming, electronics.
“I try to remember all the products I’ve talked about that I won’t even bother to cover—and that nobody’s going to buy. There were some Bluetooth speakers. Or maybe they were WiFi. But there was definitely a helmet cam. And a waterproof phone. And a tablet and an ultrabook and an OLED TV. There was ennui upon ennui upon ennui set in this amazing temple to technology.
“I imagine tuning all the television sets to hardcore gay porn, just to see the spectacle of it all. I fantasize that I am the only one here, in a post-apocalyptic trade show. Alone among these elaborate booths. Free to scamper up on top of them. Free to grab what I want, and actually play with it, like a child. I want to see it all catch fire. I want to pour gasoline in the ducts and light a long fuse, and watch from the street as it burns and burns and burns. My guess is that the flames would be quite beautiful, colored by chemical washes and treated glass. My hangover is killing me.”
Read more here.